


The Perks of Being Immortal

by dripping_moonlight



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, i will die for warriors being a gay disaster, part of the bfu au, possible cw for the italisized stuff, reincarnation bs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23601262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dripping_moonlight/pseuds/dripping_moonlight
Summary: Warriors thought he'd never have to see that face again, but fate had other plans.
Relationships: Sky & Warriors (Linked Universe), Warriors/Original Male Character
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part of an au originally based on bfu, but that went off the deep end.

"So where are we and where are we going?" Sky asked. The buzz of indiscriminate chatter in the cafe threatened to drown out Sky's soft voice, but he managed to let himself be heard. He pulled out a leather notebook labelled Paranormal Digest and a light blue felt tip pen--his notes. The first season was coming to a close, so they had to begin planning the next one if they were to keep up with the unexpected--though not unwelcome--demand, and Sky decided a picturesque downtown cafe would get the creativity juices flowing. 

"There's an abandoned theatre a few miles down the road. If we ask now, they might let us use it in a few months," Warriors answered. He looked out the lightly tinted window as Sky jotted down the comment in the notebook. The flowers were especially bright under the spring sun. He smiled at the light pink petals adorning the newly reborn cherry blossoms. The only clouds above were wispy, almost cartoon-like in their non-threat. 

Perfect picnic weather. 

_Dew-wet grass caressing his bare back. They had forgone a blanket in favor of feeling closer to nature--or perhaps because_ he _had forgotten it. It didn't matter. The soft dirt below him didn't matter. The clear blue skies didn't matter. The brush-stroke like clouds didn't matter. The gentle sun didn't matter. The slight chill of the spring breeze didn't matter. Only_ he _did._

"-ar?" Sky's voice pulled him from his thoughts. Warriors shook his head of the offending memory, humming in response. "I asked if there were any other places you knew of. Maybe somewhere far? I think I can budget a trip across the continent," Sky giggled as he finished the sentence, though without a clear causation.

Warriors looked back out the window, this time focusing on the machinery outside. The cars buzzing on the road, too busy going to and fro to even consider the beauty of the day; the panels and panels of reflective glass stretching up into the heavens and beyond. Sometimes Warriors wondered what it would be like to work in one of those buildings. To know the wall patterns so intimately that the magnificence of architectural miracle became routine. 

"There's an island off the west coast," Warriors finally responded. He focused on the dandelion growing from a crack in the sidewalk. How resilient. 

_They talked about leaving, about abandoning everyone, setting off on their own. But they hadn't done it--not yet at least. They'd made plans--whimsical ones. One day, they'd be on the beach, sipping coconut milk straight from the fruit, going to sleep to the crashing waves. The next day, they'd be on a mountain, huddling close in front of the fire when winter came, watching as the deer sought shelter from the storm, eating dried meats until the earth could provide something fresh for them again. But for now they were here. On this plain. Flat and green, in an alcove clear of forest._

"I don't know if it'll fit within the show, but," Warriors trailed off, "I've heard stories." 

Sky nodded again, scribbling down whatever notes he'd need for later research. "Do you know the name?" 

"I think it started with a K-"

"May I take your order?" a voice interrupted.

_Freckles. So many of them they overlapped each other, rushing to cover every inch of his face._

"I'll take an iced tea, no sugar. Do you have anything vegetarian?" 

_The crinkles around his eyes when he smiled, like the joy was too much to contain and it exploded into little folds from the corners._

"Yeah! We have a pretty good selection of veggie sandwiches. My fave is the Korok Kontainer, though I will admit--it's kinda big."

_Burning lips pressed to his forehead, marking him with a sign only they could read, but which was real nonetheless. Chapped. The remnants of winter still taking a toll on the usually soft organ._

"I'll take that then!" Sky responded, smiling at each word. The man turned from Sky.

_Green. Or maybe hazel. It didn't matter. Eyes so deep, he could spend the entire afternoon finding his way through them but still find himself lost in the morning. Always glowing with youthful vigor._

"And you, sir?" 

He couldn't breathe. "I'm going to the restroom," Warriors declared, abruptly pushing himself from the table to make his way to the public amenities.

\--

It was a unisex restroom, tiny. He didn't have much time before someone would grow suspicious, so he savored every second of freedom from the world outside, from him. 

Why was he here? How? It had been....decades. More, even. He should've been dead. Long dead. 6 feet under and decomposed. Rotted into dust and ashes. But here he was--asking for their order, and smiling for their tip. 

Warriors looked in the mirror, trying to ground himself. He observed each object reflected on the surface, mirrored perfectly. The paper towel dispenser, soaking from someone else's wet hands. The sagging plant browning at the edges. The faux marble countertop. The stainless steel sink. 

And himself. 

The same face he had known for decades, from which he had grown bored of to the point of being interested again. The same face _he_ had held. 

_Soft hands dangling over his face. There was fruit in between two fingers, a grape maybe. Something round. It pressed against his lips. "Open up,"_ he _said, voice not quite settled yet, but still deep and warm. And he did--taking the fruit into his mouth. It popped at the first contact with sharp teeth, exploding with its nectar. Fresh._

"I need to get a hold of myself," Warriors whispered to no one but the reflection in the mirror. 

There was a knock at the door. Someone needed to come in. "Coming!" he yelled out to the requester, but more so to assure himself that he was, indeed, real, and not a figment of his traitorous imagination. 

He turned on the tap, letting it run for a few seconds on the coldest setting. Cupping his hands underneath the stream, he allowed a small pool of frigid water to fill up his hands before splashing it onto his face. He gasped at the first contact of freezing water, but did it again. He was alive. He was here. _He_ wasn't. The man outside wasn't _him_ \--just a cruel recreation of _him_. 

He was _fine_.

\--

"Oh, hey!" 

He shouldn't have opened the door. Would it have been cruel to let the man piss himself at his work establishment? Yes. But maybe then he wouldn't have to wonder if those hands had lost their dexterity, if those lips were just as soft, if-

"Sorry if I offended you or something back there. I didn't mean it," The man tried again, smiling as always, though gentler this time, like he was afraid of scaring him again. 

Warriors tried to speak up, but found his voice lost, so he smiled sheepishly instead, nodding as he parted from the doorway to let the man in. He was just about to walk away when he realized the unlikelihood of the coincidence. He swirled around. "Sky didn't send you to check on me, did he?"

The man looked at him quizzically, "Your friend?" Warriors nodded. "No, I just had to use the restroom, but," he licked his lips, just as _he_ did "I'm still really sorry about this. Maybe I can get you something? A cheesecake? On the house of course."

_"What's this?" he asked at the box in the other's hands._

_"A cheesecake. On the house. I know it’s your favorite."_

_"I've only been here twice," he tried to deny the box._

_"Please."_

"I don't like cheesecake," Warriors tried, half turned away to dash as soon as it was polite to. 

"A meringue then? We have a lot-"

"No, please." 

_"Father's decided to send me away."_

_"Will I see you again?"_

_"Of course."_

"I wouldn't want you to get fired over me." Warriors turned fully, rushing over to where Sky was still nursing his tea.

Warriors made a swift motion of finding his wallet. He pulled it open with one hand, frantically sifting through old discounts, cards, and who-knows-what to pull out a few rupees. He slammed three or four blue notes onto the table. "Here's for the meal. I'll be in the car." 

"Wait," Sky took hold of Warriors' wrist, holding him back from leaving, "What's going- Are you crying?" 

Warriors raised his free hand up to his face, shocked when it registered wet. "I'll wait for you in the car," he told Sky again, loosening himself from Sky's grip to leave. 

How embarrassing.

\--

The walk to the car park was lonely, the only company being the still chipper birds. 

He welcomed the stuffy heat of the car. It gave him something different to focus on. He pulled down the visor, popping open the mirror. He cringed at the tears, pulling out a tissue from the dashboard to wipe them away. 

Inhale. 

Exhale. 

_A waterskin pushed upon his lips. "Drink,"_ he _commanded. And he did. The liquid was cool against his parched throat, welcome in the heat. A little bitter in the aftertaste, but nothing worthy of complaining. And so he drank, letting the mystery liquid wash over his senses, focusing on the feeling of refreshment._

Warriors gasped. Why now? Just when he thought everything was in the past. 

The car door opened, and Sky stepped in.

Sky looked at him, eyes expressing more concern than words ever could. Warriors shook his head. "Just take me home. Please." He didn't mean to sound desperate or in need of help. He was just tired. 

_Eyelids drooping closed. He was so tired. It was barely noon, but he was so tired. Gentle fingers eased his eyes closed. Sleep, comforting, never-changing, a time of complete peace. A dangerous mistress. Her call the most dangerous drug, addicting. She claimed another._

The drive out took longer than usual, the afternoon traffic forcing them into a near crawl more than once. It was about the third time they had to slow down to a complete stop when Sky tired of the silence. 

"You're really not going to speak?" Sky asked him again. "I worry about you, you know. You really scared the waiter, too." 

"Sky," Warriors interrupted him, "I love you. But please. Let me be." 

"You can talk to me. I may not be able to help, but....I'm an ear," Sky tried again. 

Warriors sighed. Sky would never let up unless he got something. He racked his brain for a story that would be believable enough to appease Sky, but vague enough that he wouldn’t have to remember many details. "Some....guy," he started, "I dated in highschool," he paused again, unsure of where to go next, "Just bad memories." 

Sky hummed in acknowledgement. "But the waiter?" 

Warriors gulped, "He looked like him. A lot," he paused for a solid minute, "But it's not him." 

"How can you be so sure?" Sky raised a curious eyebrow.

_The sun was bright against his sleep-heavy eyes. He was warm, blanketed by the early afternoon sun. Had_ he _really let him sleep that long? He stirred in place, shaking a heretofore sleeping limb awake one at a time. He brought up a woken hand to rub the remnants of sleep from his eyes. He stretched. Muscles as taut as they would go. He felt so light, like he could simply float away. He brought his hands together in front of him, as far as they'd go, to stretch out his back. His back. Which was suddenly cold. Which stretched too far._

_He tried moving a wing, only to find them unresponsive. He tried again. Nothing still. He brought a shaky hand to his back, stretching, stretching. And meeting nothing. Nothing. Nothi-_

_A stub. Right where they came out of his back. The stub was there. But not the rest of the wing. They were gone. They were gone. He tried again. Another hand. Another angle. Nothing. Nothing. He was crying now, soft hiccups quickly avalanching into breath taking sobs. Tears clouded his vision. But he could see enough. They were gone. They were gone._

_"Mikhael?" He tried asking, voice breaking in vulnerability, head swivelling around in an attempt to find_ him _\--the one who had promised his hand and taken his heart. But he was gone. Gone like his wings. He screamed._

_Across the plain, though he could not see,_ he _stood there, heavy black wings tied onto the carriage._ He _cringed at the cry of pain, pulling the hood of the cape closer in a useless attempt to block out the sound._ He _turned back towards the horse at the head of the carriage, gently ushering it to start towards the village._ He _resisted the urge to run back, and apologize, to explain himself. But_ he _didn’t deserve it. Father had made his decree known, and_ he _hadn’t chosen him._

"He's too honest," Warriors finally responded.

\--

He lasted long enough to say goodbye to Sky, to see his car drive off, to lock the door. But no longer than that. 

He let out a contained scream, tears already threatening to spill over his cheeks. Why? Why now. Why him? He's done nothing but repent since he rebelled. What did he do now? Why did She hate him so? He pushed a vase off a coffee table, pausing to enjoy the sound of ceramic shattering. He was breathing too hard now. 

"War?" Wind's voice broke into his thoughts. He was quiet, cautious in his approach. What was he doing? Raging out like a hormonal teenager, that’s what. And he was scaring the one he had set out to protect. 

He turned to look at Wind, struggling to bring his breathing back to normal. 

"You good?" Wind asked, though more out of formality than any genuine curiosity. 

"I'm-" Warriors caught himself, "No. I'm not good. But I'll be okay." 

Wind walked over to him, stepping over the shattered ceramic, sitting down criss-cross, and taking Warriors' hands into his own--the same he had done for Wind when he would become upset. "Wanna talk?" 

Not really. Not with him. But no one else could even begin to understand. He took in a deep breath. "Some guy....I thought I'd never have to see him again, but...I saw him," he smiled sardonically. 

Wind nodded, taking a moment to consider what he'd just said. "This is a pretty big city. Maybe he just moved here?" 

Warriors shook his head, laughing lightly. "No. I left him...almost two centuries ago?" 

"Oh!" Wind's outburst almost scared him. Almost. "Did you bond with him?" 

"Bond?" Warriors asked, face scrunched in confusion. 

"Yeah! Bond." Wind looked up at him expectantly, before realizing Warriors' confusion. "You know...when you like someone very much so your souls...bond," he linked two fingers together in demonstration. 

_Oh._

"Just my damn luck."


	2. Chapter 2

The popcorn on the ceiling really shouldn't be this interesting, but it was better than giving his thoughts the time of day. His back was getting a bit sweaty though--a sign he should move soon. But, oh, then he'd have to face himself and he was not ready for that.

He wasn't shutting down though. Nope. It had been decades since he went That route, and he wasn't about to bring his old coping mechanisms back up. He was very much still present.

But staying like this was so tempting...

"You're disturbing my me-time," Warriors said to seemingly nothing. He didn't bother turning from the ceiling for knew Wind had heard him from his not-so-hidden hiding place.

"Oh c'mon!" Wind yelled as he came out of the shadows, "You've been laying there for hours. I'm bored."

Still, Warriors did not move an inch. "What time is it?"

"2:57."

"Me-time ends at 3. Shoo for another three minutes," Warriors responded, but where he expected shuffling out came only a dip in the bed.

"This isn't ‘me-time’," Wind pulled himself on top of Warriors so his head blocked out the ceiling and they were seeing eye to eye, "This is moping. You know it's not good for you. And I'm getting hungry."

"Fine," Warriors groaned as he sat up, holding Wind's back so the boy wouldn't risk falling. He paused until the dizziness from the blood rushing to his head stopped, "But answer me this: is there a way to...unbond yourself from someone?"

Wind considered the question a moment, "Still thinking about the dude?"

Warriors flushed lightly, "Yes! It's hard not to when...well, whatever. Just answer me, please?"

"Oh...I don't know. The whole point of bonding is so demons could keep track of worthy souls without much effort. It'd be kinda useless if you could just turn it off," Wind paused, scrunching his eyebrows in thought, "Maybe if you killed him?"

"I am not-" Warriors started immediately but paused to consider the suggestion. Realizing the absurdity of the thought, though, he shook his head, "I am not murdering him."

Wind shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'your loss', but paused when a phone ringing interrupted the two. "Ugh, that's why I came. Your phone has been ringing like crazy for the past 20 minutes. Will you make it stop?"

Warriors raised an eyebrow in confusion, but stood up nonetheless. He made his way over to where he had left his phone. So much for peaceful me-time.

_ 5 missed calls from Bird Boy _

He dialed again, grabbing a glass of water and settling on the couch. "Hello?"

"Hey," Sky's worried voice came through the line, "Sorry to bother you, but I can't find my notebook. I was wondering if you had-" ringing interrupted Sky.

"Sorry," Warriors interrupted, "I'm getting another call from an unknown number. Gimme a min and I'll call back," he paused the call with Sky to answer the unregistered number. "Hello?"

"Hi, is this," the man on the other side paused, "Warriors?"

"Yes," Warriors answered cautiously, "This is he. Excuse me, who is this?"

"Perfect! I was just about to give up calling," the man answered. Oh no. He remembered this voice. "It's Mikhael from Telma's. Your buddy left his notebook at the cafe, and this was the only number I could find inside.”

Warriors had no interest in letting this conversation run for longer than necessary, "Yes, he was just wondering. I'll let him know. Thank-"

"Oh and before you hang up. I saw that the notebook is labelled Paranormal Digest. Are you the guys who run that?"

"Yes?" Why couldn’t he get the message? 

"Well, my sister's a pretty big fan. I was wondering if maybe we could arrange something so she can meet y'all?"

Warriors took in a deep breath. They were on vacation for Din's sake. "I'll ask my friend, okay? Why don't you leave me your phone number so I can call you back if he agrees?" Curse his bleeding heart.

"Thanks! This is my personal number actually," the man--Mikhael--replied sheepily. Warriors could just about hear him smirking. So he hung up.

He pulled the phone away from his ear, staring at it before realizing Sky was still on hold. He answered again.

"So what was it?" Sky asked immediately.

"The cafe. They said you left your notebook there."

"Oh thank Hylia, I was so scared I had lost it forever. It's really like my second brain," Sky rambled for a bit, "Did they leave a number or a name so I can pick it up?" 

"About that..." Warriors trailed off, "It was the waiter from...yeah. He says his sister is a big fan and wants to meet us. What do you say?" Internally, he was begging Sky to say-

"Yes!" No. "That's so exciting, getting to meet a fan! How are we going to contact him though?" 

"He left me his number." Oh Din did that sound suggestive. 

"Ooooo," Sky teased from the other side. So he caught it too. "Is this-"

Warriors hung up. 

He made a group chat with Mikhael and Sky so the two could make plans about the meet-up, but that was all he would interact with him. Would Sky be angry if he just quit? Probably. But, oh, it was so tempting at this moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this originally said 2 chapters but woops I'm feeling gay


End file.
